Elementary Buddha Remembrance Samādhi

Ru Chun: After reading the section on training the mental faculty, I tried the method of focused Buddha-recitation. Sitting cross-legged, I turned the prayer beads while reciting the Buddha's name, my eyes fixed on the rotating beads, my ears listening to my own recitation, and my consciousness guarding against distracting thoughts—maintaining intense concentration. I recited for over forty minutes, and after finishing, I felt a buzzing sound in my head.

Shortly after, I went to sit in meditation. Not long after settling into the posture, I heard my own recitation, heartbeat, and pulse intertwining—extremely clear, powerful, and rhythmic. It felt as though the sound was resonating deep within my mind, as if forming a separate space that blocked out all other information. This lasted for over half an hour. Later, I felt my consciousness begin to intervene, and the sound vanished. May I ask, Master: Is this the mental faculty reciting the Buddha's name? Is this method of practice correct? Later, when I tried to continue practicing with this method, I couldn't regain that state and don’t know why.

Commentary: If it is pure, focused Buddha-recitation, then one must gather and control the six faculties. What is meant by "gather and control the six faculties" is that the mental faculty recites the Buddha's name while the other five faculties remain still. But your hand (body faculty) was moving, your eyes (eye faculty) were also moving, and your ears (ear faculty) were active. When the five faculties move, the mental faculty inevitably goes to observe them, scattering attention. This requires tremendous energy to maintain the mental faculty's focus, which is very difficult. Therefore, the depth of meditative concentration (samadhi) was not profound, and you couldn’t regain that state later. However, the meditative concentration was still quite good; there was a preliminary emergence of the samadhi of Buddha-recitation. It’s just that the state of samadhi was not deep or enduring. If you relinquish the five faculties, the state of samadhi in Buddha-recitation will deepen and become more stable.

Ru Chun: I misunderstood. I thought it meant the six consciousnesses concentrating on one task to lead the mental faculty to join in. I will adjust my approach.